New York State made $37.4 million in economic output from UFC 205: study

Start spreading the news: The UFC made New York quite a bit of money in November.

The city and state of New York made $37.4 million in economic output and $18.3 million in salaries and wages from UFC 205 in New York City back in November, per a study done by the company Applied Analysis released Monday. The study also found that UFC 205 supported 300 jobs in the New York metro area and generated $1.6 million in taxes for the state.

“Mixed martial arts competitions have already proven to be major economic drivers across New York, and the jobs and revenue generated by this event illustrates the enormous impact of this growing industry in our state,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing the further growth of this sport continue to foster economic activity, help create jobs, and further establish New York as an international entertainment hub.”

UFC 205 was headlined by a lightweight title fight between Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12. McGregor, the UFC’s biggest star, won the belt via second-round knockout. Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought to an entertaining draw in the co-main event and Joanna Jedrzejczyk successfully defended her women’s strawweight title against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

MMA was legalized in April 2016 in New York after nearly two decades of being banned in the state. UFC 205 was the first major show in the state since 1996 and set the UFC and MSG gate record of $17.7 million. On top of that, the UFC had huge marks with 15,480 people at the weigh-ins and 20,427 at the fight. The press release also stated that UFC 205 set commercial pay-per-view (locations and gross revenue) and social media records (14 billion impressions).

New York is going to be a popular landing spot for the Octagon in the near future. Already, the UFC has been back twice, a Fight Night event in Albany two months ago and last weekend’s UFC 208 in Brooklyn. Next up is UFC 210 on April 8 in Buffalo. The promotion has said it will run at least four events per year in New York State for the first three years since the ban was lifted.

“We said it from the very beginning, we knew New York was going to be huge,” UFC president Dana White said in a statement. “It was a dream come true for the athletes, for the fans, and for our company to host a UFC event in ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena.’ The numbers don’t lie, a lot of people came out to support us and we’re going to keep doing this up and down the state.”